Don’t Reward Yourself with Food; You’re Not a Dog

No One Likes A “Female Dog” – So Why Treat Yourself Like One.

Now don’t box-er in on this until you hear me out, I would hate to lead you a stray but I’m completely guilty of this and can only see howl … What can I say, so it doesn’t sound bad .. My afternoon at work was ruff so I got home and went to the fridge and went a Freddo or two … OK fine, I had 3… OK paws…

Well what can I say, I’m a foody (thank-you captain obvious)… I like cake, champagne and CHOCOLATE (my triple threats TREATS) and that’s ok, I mean a girls got to eat – sure healthier options can (and should) be made, but where is the fun? Although, it has to come to a point where enough is enough as I have recently noticed a trend where I am rewarding myself with ‘treat’ foods, yes … Like a dog – pathetic right? But I am not having any luck at breaking it.

I love rewards and am all for them (hey I’m a shopping and fooding ‘rewards’ queen – only yesterday I bought 4kgs of Protein as my reward for being active the last few weeks, can I just say it was on sale and was a good price – so looking forward to trying 4 new flavours! Okay fine, that’s not my normal rewards style – it’s normally Clothes, Chocolate, Champagne or Cake (oh my goodness what is it with me and the letter C?!? But notice how most of it is food based…) however my behaviour of treating myself like a dog is getting out of hand- give me food & I will sit, show me a treat and I will roll over … Okay, so maybe not exactly like that – but more like … do the washing and you can have a Freddo frog (if you haven’t picked up I’m addicted to Freddo and Friends) or even not do the washing and have a frog because ‘you’re worth it’ (kinda where I have found a fault in the rewards system which I am exploiting #justatad – although, I’m getting pretty good at justifying almost anything). I have tried justifying it by making myself work it off and trying to only go it if it fits into my macros but my goodness – girl have some control! It’s kinda embarrassing but I have lost self control (and to think in the past I have rant & raved about having self control and being disciplined– well not lately #thisneedstochange ). So it’s time to get a new leash on life and break the chain (haha are you all appreciating my pawesome doggie puns? Haha).

Now don’t get me wrong rewards are a fantastic way to help start a new habit and I guess it makes it easier to stick too. But at what point do you ease off – I mean once you train a dog to do a particular command with treats you don’t exactly continue giving them treats, you start with a treat for bribery, then you ease into a ‘good-puppy’ praise and pat and then you end up just saying ‘good boy/girl’ and well then its expected behavior…

At the end of the day I guess it comes down to me loving my lifestyle. I train and run because of the health benefits, but also because I love it, it’s my appointment with me for me. I guess I need to start looking at my ‘fooding’ the same way. Whilst rewards are a fantastic way to help start a new habit and I guess easier to stick too, rewarding myself with the wrong foods on a daily (perhaps hourly – pending mood, hey I’m being honest!) basis is not going to help me become healthier. After all if my food consumption isn’t adequately supporting my training really it’s hindering my performance and I’m putting too much blood (yes at times – I am known to be a little clumsy), sweat and tears to not be seeing maximum results. Yes, I do like rewards – ultimately competitions and challenges are what motivates me *yes my competitive nature is coming through) and well rewards (through ‘naughty foods’) are what has made it more appealing!  So for me to stay motivated about what I want, I need to ensure my reward aligns with my goals – which is where my new yummy protein flavours come in. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not going to cut out my guilty pleasures, I’m just saying that choices need to be made and everything needs to be in moderation. I will enjoy my Freddo Frogs, but I won’t use them as a reward and I will treat them as a ‘some-times’ food (like how cookie monster now needs to treat cookies – oh I’m going to suffer with him lol)

Look at me already trying to justify chocolate!

So I want to know … What do you do to reward yourself?!?

JessE-B xx